The Good Doctor Eats His Gun

Fox News

Hunter S. Thompson, the hard-living writer who inserted himself into his accounts of America's underbelly and popularized a first-person form of journalism in books such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," has committed suicide. More...



One might think it a bit odd that I would pay tribute to Hunter S. Thompson on this blog. A little background might be appropriate. Before I was a right wing nut job I was a left wing nut job, a serious recreational drug user, and a big fan of Hunter Thompson. I read "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" in Grade 9, shortly after it came out. I read parts of stoned on acid myself and couldn't believe how much it made me laugh. I decided to make it my manual for life and spent much of the next 10 years in
similar condition.

I have continued to be a big fan of the man's scribblings ever since. This blog has always carried a link to his column at ESPN. The last installment being 17 December had me a bit concerned. I would have expected something on the playoffs and the Superbowl but it never came. Now we know why.

PS - I have never let politics get in the way of appreciating true talent, which is why I have also been a big Zappa fan since I was 13. I didn't agree with the politics of the good Doctor but the entertainment value was enough. - KS

Canadian Islamic Congress Lectures PM

Little Green Footballs Linked To This Open Letter From The CIC to Paul Martin On Syria And Iraq

This exerpt is especially telling:

To date, the American-led invasion of Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 Iraqis and thousands of Americans. Iraq has been transformed from country with 100% employment and a stable public service infrastructure, into an impoverished nation in disarray, with more than half of its adult workforce jobless. From being one of the leading Middle East states in administration, education and health care, Iraq has fallen to one of the world's most disadvantaged societies.

So the CIC liked the good old days in Iraq better and thinks that "100% employment and a stable public service infrastructure" makes up for hundreds of thousands of corpses in mass graves, torture chambers, children's prisons, and gassed Kurds. Do what you want as long as the trains run on time. - KS

Scott Ritter At Al-Jazeera

Found this story at Fox News

Not all Marines take pride in the work of their brothers.

Take Scott Ritter, a former Marine and United Nations weapons inspector, who has turned into a critic of just about anything the U.S. does in Iraq. Now he’s writing for Al-Jazeera’s Web site, which seems like a perfect home for his defeatist rhetoric.
David Asman

Ritter's pathetic pack of lies here.

Nice Eason Jordan Wrap From The Times

Blogs Sound Death Knell

The credibility of the liberal segment of the mainstream press was dealt a mortal blow by the partisan and fabricated attack launched against President Bush by Dan Rather and CBS News. The death knell was just rung because that same liberal wing (meaning the vast majority) deliberately ignored a hugely important story that called into question their very motivations and judgment.

Douglas MacKinnon - Washington Times

The MSM which so adamantly denies any accusation of liberal bias only looks more guilty when bloggers turn the screws. Hats off to all those who made it happen- KS

On the Family Side...

Cochrane Family Ends A Century Of Business Ownership

As Carlyle prepares to celebrate its centennial, the Cochrane family could be celebrating one of their own.

“My grandfather started in 1905 so we’ve been in business 100 years in Carlyle,” Boyd Cochrane said. “I was born here, and my dad was born here in 1907. Our roots go deep in this town.”



Boyd’s grandfather, Henry, began his machine/hardware business in 1905. Boyd and his father, Elmer, continued the tradition until January, 2005 when Boyd retired and sold the Home Hardware to Gilles and Nancy Matthewson. Carlyle Observer

Congratulations Uncle Boyd On Your Well Deserved Retirement - KS

Atlas Shrugged At Wal-Mart

Nice One From Colby Cosh On The Wal-Mart Situation In Quebec Here

"It seems that the citizens of Jonquière didn't want to work for a non-unionized Wal-Mart, and now they're getting their wish--an eventuality that was, incidentally, at least as foreseeable as a Ken Griffey hamstring injury. Why aren't the employees thrilled about this? Wouldn't "Don't you dare close your evil, oppressive store, you heartless, convenient bastards!" be a good English translation of all the Gallic gibberish being spouted here? Am I alone in suspecting that this farce is being staged as a satire in honour of Ayn Rand's centenary? Do Quebeckers really think that calling in bomb threats to other Wal-Marts is a good way to keep the retailer in Quebec?"

Sask. Wal-Marts Expect Closures Leader Post

Union Vows To Continue Wal-Mart Efforts CNEWS

Dangerous Sex Offender Dies Of Cancer In Regina Psychiatric Centre

A sex offender who engaged in horrific acts of child abuse and bestiality for 30 years died of cancer Thursday at the Regional Psychiatric Centre.

James (Max) Yanoshewski, 61, entered the facility -- which provides palliative care to federal offenders -- in August 2004. More...

And hats off to my brother Dean for prosecuting this animal. - KS

Where's The Justice?

Police, Crown won't be laying charges

Parents of two of the children killed in a fall head-on car crash just outside Regina city limits are angry charges won't be laid against the underage driver who was behind the wheel of the sport-utility vehicle in which their kids were travelling. More...

A gutless decision by the system ends this tragic case. - KS

The Boxer Metaphor

Victor Davis Hanson has a nice piece on Barbara Boxer's disraceful treatment of Condoleeza Rice

The symbolism of the recent heated exchange between Senator Boxer and Secretary-of-State Rice was telling. For hours on end, speaking without notes, a proud, poised African-American professional woman from Birmingham, Alabama parried withering cross-examination from a succession of liberal senators angry over the war.

Boxer, the Bay Area’s premier progressive and crankiest of the questioners, has had a history of defining political disagreements in terms of personal partisanship, of us-versus-them rather than of mere opposing ideas. The senator once went after erstwhile rival Bruce Herschensohn, Senator Packwood, and Clarence Thomas for their purported sexual insensitivities—but urged forgiveness for President Clinton’s more egregiously inappropriate conduct, whose preemptive bombing of Milosevic she supported despite the absence of either Senate or UN approval. More...

That Ought To Make Us Safer

Registry can't find many gun owners: Thousands fail to notify Canada Firearm Centre that they have moved

The Canada Firearms Centre lost track of at least 46,500 licensed gun owners last year, prompting renewed charges that front-line police officers cannot trust the controversial system with their lives or the public's safety.

Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan disclosed in response to questions from Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz that 46,409 letters to licence holders came back from Canada Post as "undelivered" mail.

The letters were among 773,218 renewal notices for gun-possession licences the firearms centre sent out as part of a firearms centre initiative to stagger renewals to avoid backlogs at a processing centre in Miramichi, N.B.

McLellan told Breitkreuz that Canada Post did not specify reasons for the returned mail, although that claim has been put into question by a postal official.

Breitkreuz said the information gap could have drastic consequences if police officers approach houses or apartments and either mistakenly believe a gun is on the premises or incorrectly assume there is no gun.

Either scenario could happen if gun owners are not notifying the firearms centre that their home addresses have changed, Breitkreuz said.

"Someone could just be reaching for a cellphone," said the Saskatchewan MP. "Or, there could be a gun and they don't know it. Either way, it could be very bad."

The firearms centre mailed the notices to holders of firearms-possession licences to inform them their permits had been renewed for periods of one to four years without charge.

Possession licences expire after five years, and the centre used a computer to randomly assign free extensions to avoid the logjam that would have been created had all the licences expired at the same time.

The possession licences were available to individuals who already owned guns when the Canada Firearms Act took effect in 1998.

Gun owners with possession and acquisition licences which, unlike possession-only licences, allow them to buy or acquire firearms, were not part of the renewal program.

Breitkreuz noted the Canada Firearms Act requires licence holders to notify the Canada Firearms Centre if they change addresses. It is a Criminal Code offence to ignore the requirement, and penalties for conviction range up to a two-year prison sentence.

"People may be criminals, and they don't even know it," said Breitkreuz.

A spokesman for the Canada Firearms Centre said the undelivered return-mail rate for the renewal notices was lower than "industry standards" for large mailouts.

"More than nine out of 10 were successfully delivered," said spokesman Jamie Deacon, adding the centre continually renews information on the gun registry's computer data base. - Vancouver Sun

A Misunderstanding Between Allawi and ABC?

Office "Insulted" Over Suggestion?

Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi’s office says its, "disappointed and insulted" that in order to get an interview with Allawi this past week, producers at ABC News (search) suggested, "Not giving Peter Jennings (search) an interview equates to the prime minister not being caring about American soldiers or being grateful for the United States’ leading role in the coalition.

In a letter to ABC, an Allawi spokesman says the prime minister, "could not have been clearer about his views on U.S. sacrifices over the past year and more." Adding, "I can now confirm that the prime minister will not be available for an interview with ABC over the elections period. I look forward to a more constructive exchange and a more mature relationship with ABC once this election period is over."

ABC News called the whole thing a " misunderstanding."
- Brit Hume/Fox News